It is estimated that less than 23% of Americans between the ages of 17 and 22 are eligible to serve in the U.S. military. The reasons range from obesity and drug use to mental health issues. Today, less than 1% of our nation's citizens serve in the military, making the U.S. military a monopolistic organization.
But last week, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett ruled that the Naval Academy's race-conscious admissions policy does not violate the Supreme Court's recent decision to curb affirmative action. Judge Bennett argued that the Naval Academy has a “compelling national security interest in a diverse officer corps.” He is only partially correct.
The time has come for President Trump's new military leadership team to halt the deterioration of military readiness.
While in combat and on special underwater missions, my special operations teammates and I never cared about the skin color of our combat buddies or diving partners. All we cared about was having the people next to us have our backs.
The diversity we need in our military is not in whether we are black, white, or anything in between, but in our backgrounds and what we bring to the fight. I served with men and women who didn't care about the color of my skin. They cared that I was trained, ready, and able to lead them. The diversity I brought to the table came from my life experiences growing up in sub-Saharan West Africa and Southeast Asia, understanding the culture, and speaking three languages fluently.
The military has missed its 2023 recruiting goal by 41,000 soldiers as our leaders continue to focus on inclusivity rather than exclusivity. The U.S. Navy avoided the shortage by bringing in late recruits ahead of schedule. Typically, these hires are counted in the next fiscal year. But the Navy could hide the lower numbers in 2023 by extorting payments from Peter to Paul and leaving an even bigger gap in 2024.
Faced with an initial deficit in 2024, Navy leaders considered medical conditions that would ultimately result in more than 85% of recruits receiving medical exemptions through a thorough medical review process. In April 2024, the Navy Recruiting Director released a two-page list of conditions that would be automatically waived, bypassing even a cursory review by a doctor.
These exemption conditions include: “F12 – Psychiatric and behavioral disorders due to the use of cannabinoids” As a result, new employees who are treated for bipolar disorder and have suicidal thoughts may slip through the cracks. “M95 – Acquired deformities of the musculoskeletal system” It allows new recruits with severe scoliosis to join the military, ultimately requiring expensive spinal surgery and full disability benefits. and “S68 – Traumatic amputation of wrist, hand and fingers” It is possible that new recruits with only one hand will be able to join the military.
The military is not a social experiment. We have a difficult mission to protect our country, and we need a military that is ready to act at any time and in any environment.
Professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL don't care about diversity or whether their teams equally represent the demographics of the cities they wear on their jerseys. Professional sports teams are looking for the best teams because winning is the only metric that matters. Similarly, our military services should be exclusive and focused on acquiring the best. All of us in uniform would rather fight with a smaller army than with a full man army full of people who can't do the job.
When I directed the Naval Submarine Salvage Training Center, we trained approximately 1,400 students from all five services each year. The rate of attrition is high, and I explained to the questioning Congressional delegation that the sea is unforgiving, and war and adversity do not matter whether you are male or female, black or white. It will kill you the same way. My job was to prepare these young men and women for dangerous underwater missions. We were intentionally exclusive.
The time has come for President Trump's new military leadership team to halt the deterioration of military readiness. Putting America first starts with creating the most lethal military, full of alpha males and alpha females who put national security first, tear out their own innards, eat them, and want seconds. These are the young men and women who will win the war. Our job is to protect our nation and maintain peace, and we need a dedicated team to do that.
Editor's note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
